English A2 – Pre-Intermediate

Lesson 7: Healthy Living

Giving Advice with “Should” and “Shouldn’t”

🎯 Lesson Goal

Learn how to use “should” for good ideas.
Learn how to use “shouldn’t” for bad ideas.
Give health advice for common symptoms.

💡

Video Transcript
Lesson: Giving Good Advice

GRAMMAR: SHOULD / SHOULDN’T

“

Hello everyone! Welcome to our English class. Today, we’ll learn how to give good advice for a healthy life.

We will use two special words: “should” and “shouldn’t.”

Let’s start with “should.” We use “should” for good ideas.
For example, if you want to be healthy:
✅ You should eat fruit and vegetables.
✅ You should drink a lot of water.
✅ And you should get enough sleep.
These are all good things to do!

Now, let’s talk about “shouldn’t.” We use “shouldn’t” for bad ideas.
For example:
❌ You shouldn’t eat too much sugar.
❌ You shouldn’t watch TV all day.
❌ You shouldn’t go to bed very late.
These are things to avoid.

What if you have a headache?
You should rest. You shouldn’t listen to loud music.

It’s simple, right? Use “should” for good advice and “shouldn’t” for bad ideas. Thanks for watching! See you next time

”

🌟 Summary: Should = Good Idea | Shouldn’t = Bad Idea
[End of Recording]

💡 Grammar: Giving Advice

We use should to say that something is a good idea. We use shouldn’t (should not) to say something is a bad idea.

The Rule:

Subject + Should / Shouldn’t + Verb (Base Form)

✅ Positive (Good Idea)
“You should drink water.”

❌ Negative (Bad Idea)
“You shouldn’t drink soda.”

📋 Doctor’s Advice for Common Problems

Here is how we use this grammar in real life:

If you have…	You should…	You shouldn’t…
A fever	Stay in bed.	Go to work.
A stomachache	Drink tea.	Eat spicy food.
A toothache	See a dentist.	Eat candy.

💬 Conversation Practice

Read/listen to the conversation between two friends:

Anna: I feel very tired and I have a bad cough.

Ben: Oh no! You should stay home today.

Anna: I have a lot of work to do.

Ben: You shouldn’t go to the office. You need to rest!

🧩 Activity: Give Advice

Complete the advice using should or shouldn’t:

1. “I have a headache.” → You __________ watch TV.
2. “I am very dizzy.” → You __________ sit down.
3. “My eyes hurt.” → You __________ look at your phone.
4. “I have a cold.” → You __________ drink orange juice.

Click here to check the answers

1. shouldn’t | 2. should | 3. shouldn’t | 4. should